Most states have laws in place specifying that only a licensed insurance agent may sell property and casualty insurance. As a result, retailers, manufacturers or service providers that wish to provide property and/or casualty insurance to a customer at an item's point of sale must arrange for an insurance agent or the insurer to sell the insurance directly to the customer. This can be expensive and, often, infeasible for the retailer.
In addition, consumers often purchase a contract of property and/or casualty insurance that covers damage to, or the loss (including theft) of, all or part of an item such as a personal electronic device (e.g., a cellular phone, PDA, or two-way pager), even when the item is covered by a service contract that covers item failures, such as the mechanical breakdown of the item. As a result, customers often have two or more different contracts for a single item. This requires customers to keep track of two or more separate contracts, and can make it administratively difficult and confusing for customers to arrange for the repair or replacement of, or indemnity for, a failed, damaged, or lost item. In light of the above, there is a need for improved systems and methods for providing property insurance (and/or other insurance products) to a customer, especially at an item's point of sale.